Dog Health Questions: My dog can't be trusted off the leash, how can i get rid of this bad habit?

i have an 11 month old female springer spaniel, and if she gets off the leash, she BOLTS. when we first got her in august, she was absolutely perfect with staying with me. i took her outside all the time and it was never a problem. then little by little, she started going farther and farther where she wouldn't come inside unless you taunted her with a stick. then she started playing this you can't catch me game where she just ran from you no matter what tricks you tried to get her to come. we live off the road pretty far back in the woods, so she was just running around the property but it got really, really bad quickly. one time my dad pulled over on the side of the road when she was in the car and she jumped out and he spent 2 hours chasing her around the get her back in the car. then, she got out of the house and ran for dear life until she got to the road, which is one with heavy traffic. i chased her for 2 and a half hours before i could get her. it was HORRIBLE, and now i can't trust her without a leash at all. sometimes when i'm just taking her for a bathroom break she'll get off and make a run for it, so i'm scared to even take her outside at all. it's a shame that she can't grow up running around like a dog should, but we just can't trust her. we took her to dog training and the trainer said she's never heard of a dog doing that more than once and she didn't know how to fix it. it's definitely our faults since we weren't strict with her training, but i'm tired of being terrified of taking my dog for a walk. she got out recently and did come to my dad after half an hour and didn't sprint away so she is getting better, but this really needs to end. how can i train her out of this habit, and how can i be positively sure she's outgrown it? the last thing i want is for my dog to get hit on the road. thanks so much :)

Traditional Dog Training Versus Positive Reinforcement Dog Training - A Comparison

Recommended Answer:
What a terrible trainer, I know more than her.

Most dogs that get significant walks daily don't do that. Is she getting walked daily? Dogs love to see the outside world, so they'll seek it out themselves if you're not giving it to them. She should be getting at least 45 minutes of walking a day---ideally half hour in the morning, and half hour in the evening would be best. If she's running for two hours, then she obviously has a ton of energy, and needs lots and lots of walks. If you ran with her, that would be great, too. She would also be great at a sport like agility--but you would need to stick to an indoor training center until you can conquer the running away thing.

She also needs better recall training. Since she can run far, whistle recall might be good for you. Train her to know that a whistle blow means "come here for a treat." Start training it in the house, blow the whistle, give a treat, and do this over and over and over. Then do it when she might be elsewhere in the house, so she has to run to you. then do it outside on a long leash. Do this over and over again, until you see an automatic response from her. She shouldn't even think about whether or not she wants to come to you, she should just do it automatically. Always give tons of praise every time she comes to you, so it's more fun for her. You'll need to do this a ton, I recommend feeding meals this way, so she doesn't get fat with treats.

Another problem is that she knows coming to you means the fun is over. So, to teach her that this isn't always true, in training, you can also have her come to you, give a treat, and then throw a ball or a toy, so she knows that it's still playtime even though she came to you. You can also just run around with her on the leash. Show her that coming to you can be part of the play, not the end of it.

Rules of recall training:
--Start out by only calling her when you know she'll definitely come to you. (Like in the house, then you can move to outside, but not when she's distracted.)
--Don't repeat your command--this teaches them that they can disobey if they want. Since negative reinforcement isn't preferred, if they disobey you're supposed to do something that surprises them--like run out of the room and hide. The dog will be interested and will come to you to check it out.
--Make it fun--coming shouldn't be a punishment.

I got most of this from a DVD called "Really Reliable Recall", which you can purchase from cleanrun.com. Also, trainers never suggest this, because negative reinforcement is discouraged, but you can also try an E-collar. (AKA electronic collar). We have one that does either a noise or it vibrates. I just use the noise, because my dog finds it displeasing enough. You can use it in training--If you call "Come" (or whistle), and they don't come after you give the command, you give them a buzz. This teaches they aren't allowed to disobey. Most dogs usually get it pretty quickly. It doesn't hurt them, just annoys and surprises them. My dog gets scared and runs right back to me for protection. We rarely use it because it's mean, but you might need one for your dog. It might be good to put on her just in case she takes off, but do training with it first so you know she'll come when you use it.

Also, is she slipping out of her collar? She should probably be wearing a harness, so she can't get out on a walk.

Dog Training: Tips and Tricks the Professionals Use

• You may want to try a shock collar, I know they are painful for the dog, but after a few days of doing that, that'll teach her how to stay by you or how behave off of a leash.


• Hire a trainer or keep him on leash


• Most responsible adoption groups won't place dogs with people they know intend to let them run loose. There are just too many dangers, even in lightly developed areas: poisons, traps, wild animals, roads, hunters. There's no way she can "get off" the leash if you have one with a functioning snap, a properly fitting collar, and keep your hand all the way through the loop end of the leash. Sounds like your "trainer" was some unqualified Petco/Petsmart type. Anyone can claim to be a trainer. Your dog's behavior is VERY common. The first thing you are going wrong is to chase her. If you aren't yelling at her, she thinks it's a game. If your ARE yelling, why on earth would she want to come to you? The recall must always be delivered in a cheerful tone, and there must be hearty praise and reward for obeying. Walk away from her, in a safe direction, and call her name.
  Then get serious about obedience lessons with a competent trainer.


• There is no outgrowing this. she needs to be training properly in recall. your last trainer was an idiot. She knows that your guys aren't consistent and has no motivation to obey the command. Start back from scratch. On a leash in an fenced area. If needed find a better trainer than the one you spoke with.


• Find a better trainer! Your dog does need more training & you need to keep her on lead except in fenced areas, for her safety. Obviously the first thing you need to teach the dog is to come when called because, right now, she knows she does not have to. Reliable off lead training takes time, so find a good trainer and keep at it. You need to train on lead for a good while to get reliable off lead performance. Unfortunately just one incident like you had is all many dogs need to teach them they can do what they want when the leash is off and it can be hard to break old habits. A 50' lead (just put a snap hook on inexpensive rope from the hardware store) will allow her exercise & allow you to be in control as well as be safe. Good luck.
  
  I can't imagine a trainer who has never heard of what is a very typical problem LOL!


• Ok I know how you feel my dog use to give me a hard time to. There is a dog training school close to where we live but it cost too much cash. So I looked online too. I come across the dog training academy course it has worked out to be the best think I bout online in while. It could be what you're looking for.